Texas Instruments HF Antenna Cookbook (11-08-26-001) Application notes

Brand: Texas Instruments

Model: HF Antenna Cookbook (11-08-26-001)

Type: Application notes

11-08-26-001 March 2001

Radio Frequency Identification Systems

HF Antenna Cookbook

Technical Application Report

SCBA033

Lit. Number 11-08-26-001

Contents

Edition One – March 2001 ....................................................................................................i

About this Manual................................................................................................................ii

Conventions.........................................................................................................................ii

If You Need Assistance....................................................................................................... ii

Abstract................................................................................................................................1

1 Construction Details......................................................................................................2

1.1 Copper Tape ............................................................................................................. 2

1.2 Copper Tube ............................................................................................................. 3

1.2.1 Mounting tuning components.............................................................................................3

2 Copper Tube Antenna (500mm x 500mm)....................................................................4

2.1.1 Gamma matching the Antenna...........................................................................................5

3 Tape Antenna (550mm x 800mm).................................................................................6

3.1 Tape Antenna tuning circuit....................................................................................... 6

3.2 Tape antenna T Matching ......................................................................................... 7

3.2.1 Method to locate the matching point ..................................................................................7

4 Twin Loop Antenna (2 x 500mm x 500mm)..................................................................8

4.1 Twin loop Matching & Tuning Circuit with BALUN ..................................................... 9

4.2 Antenna / Transmitter Matching with BALUN .......................................................... 10

4.2.1 How to construct a Matching Balun..................................................................................10

5 Small Round Antenna .................................................................................................12

6 Spiral Antenna.............................................................................................................13

6.1 Spiral Antenna construction details ......................................................................... 13

7 Conclusion...................................................................................................................14

References .........................................................................................................................14

Figures

Figure 1. Copper tape folded and soldered .........................................................................2

Figure 2. Picture showing copper tube and the joining material .......................................3

Figure 3. Assembled Copper Tube end................................................................................3

Figure 4. Copper Tube Antenna 500mm x 500mm ..............................................................4

Figure 5. Resonance Tuning Components ..........................................................................4

Figure 6. Gamma Matched Antenna.....................................................................................5

Figure 7. Tape Antenna (550mm x 800mm) .........................................................................6

Figure 8. Tape antenna tuning components........................................................................6

Figure 9. Tape antenna T matching......................................................................................7

Figure 10. Twin-loop Antenna..............................................................................................8

Figure 11. Tuning circuit......................................................................................................9

Figure 12. Antenna Transmitter Matching using a BALUN................................................10

Figure 13. Example BALUN Matching Network..................................................................10

Figure 14. Small Round antenna.........................................................................................12

Figure 15. Small Round Antenna Tuning circuit ................................................................12

Figure 16. Spiral Antenna ....................................................................................................13

Figure 17. Capacitive matching Board................................................................................13

Figure 18. Roller Conveyor Read Gate................................................................................14

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Page (i)

Edition One – March 2001

This is the first edition of this Technical Application Report called HF Antenna Cookbook.

It contains descriptions of how to build and tune antennas for use at 13.56MHz and should be

used in conjunction with:

Tag-it™ S6000 and S6500 Readers

This document has been created to help support Texas Instruments’

Customers in designing in and /or using TI*RFID products for their chosen

application. Texas Instruments does not warrant that its products will be

suitable for the application and it is the responsibility of the Customer to

ensure that these products meet their needs, including conformance to

any relevant regulatory requirements.

Texas Instruments (TI) reserves the right to make changes to its products

or services or to discontinue any product or service at any time without

notice. TI provides customer assistance in various technical areas, but

does not have full access to data concerning the use and applications of

customers’ products.

Therefore, TI assumes no liability and is not responsible for Customer

applications or product or software design or performance relating to

systems or applications incorporating TI products. In addition, TI assumes

no liability and is not responsible for infringement of patents and / or any

other intellectual or industrial property rights of third parties, which may

result from assistance provided by TI.

TI products are not designed, intended, authorized or warranted to be

suitable for life support applications or any other life critical applications

which could involve potential risk of death, personal injury or severe

property or environmental damage.

TIRIS and TI*RFID logos, the words TI*RFID™ and Tag-it™ are trademarks or registered

trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI).

This document may be downloaded onto a computer, stored and duplicated as necessary to

support the use of the related TI products. Any other type of duplication, circulation or storage on

data carriers in any manner not authorized by TI represents a violation of the applicable copyright

laws and shall be prosecuted.

Lit. Number 11-08-26-001

Page (ii)

PREFACE

Read This First

About this Manual

This Technical Application Report 11-08-26-001 is designed for use by TI-RFID partners

who are engineers experienced with TI-RFID and Radio Frequency Identification Devices

(RFID).

Conventions

Certain conventions are used in order to display important information in this manual,

these conventions are:

WARNING:

A warning is used where care must be taken or a certain

procedure must be followed, in order to prevent injury or

harm to your health.

CAUTION:

This indicates information on conditions, which must be met,

or a procedure, which must be followed, which if not heeded

could cause permanent damage to the system.

Note:

Indicates conditions, which must be met, or procedures, which

must be followed, to ensure proper functioning of any hardware or

software.

Information:

Information about setting up and procedures, that make the use of

the equipment or software easier, but is not detremental to its

operation.

If You Need Assistance

For more information, please contact the sales office or distributor nearest you. This

contact information can be found on our web site at: http://www.ti-rfid.com

Lit. Number 11-08-26-001

Page (1)

HF Antenna Cook Book

J A Goulbourne TI*RFID, Northampton

Abstract

During the past 2 years it has become clear that with each application of smart

labels, a new antenna system has to be designed. ‘Off the shelf’ HF Antennae are

not available for every application and therefore each antenna may have to be

designed from scratch, in order to meet the system requirements.

The ‘HF Antenna Cook Book’ is the result of this need to build different antenna

systems and has been written to show the RFID Engineer how to design various

HF antennas for use with Tag-it™ transponder inlays. The descriptions within this

document are based on actual designs which have been completed at Texas

Instruments RFID laboratories and used to demonstrate antenna configurations

during various trials that have subsequently taken place.

The document is full of pictures and constructional details for a variety of antennae

operating at 13.56MHz and primarily matched to the characteristics of Texas

Instruments RFID readers. This is not an exhaustive list of antenna types that

could be used, but it does offer the RF antenna design engineer an insight into

some of the techniques can be used.

This compilation is to assist the RF Engineer to build antennas for Tag-it™ HF

frequency transponders. Experimentation to fine-tune the individual antenna

design, in order to meet a particular application requirement, may be required by

the RF Engineer.

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Page (2)

1 Construction Details

There are two constructional methods of HF Antenna design discussed in this book both

are produced from using either copper tape or copper tube.

1.1 Copper Tape

Adhesive copper tape is available in a number of widths. As a general rule, as the size of

the antenna increases, the width of the tape should increase to keep the antenna

resistance and inductance to a minimum.

For example to build a 150mm x 150mm (6" x 6") antenna - 10mm wide tape would be

satisfactory but for a 1m x 1m (40" x 40") antenna 50mm (2") tape is required.

Copper-backed tape is available with conductive and non-conductive adhesive. It is

recommended to use non-conductive variety because it is much cheaper. All the folded

joints should be soldered as shown in Figure 1. For the best results, the corners of

rectangular antennas should be at 45º

Figure 1. Copper tape folded and soldered

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1.2 Copper Tube

As with copper tape antennae, as the size of the antenna increases, the diameter of the

tube should be increased to reduce the resistance and inductance of the antenna. The

smallest antennas can be made with copper shielded coax cable

e.g. RG 405, whereas a

500mm x 500mm (20" x 20") loop requires 15mm (½”) Ø copper tube, whilst larger loops

should use 22mm (¾") Ø tube.

To construct a square loop antenna you can either bend the tube at 90˚, or use 90˚ solder

fittings. Copper tube antennas have the additional advantage of being self-supporting

and because of their rigidity, the matching characteristics are unlikely to change (as

can happen with ones constructed from wire).

1.2.1 Mounting tuning components

The copper antenna requires tuning and to accomplish this the antenna side opposite the

transmitter feed needs to be cut, so as to achieve a minimum 30mm separation to

prevent unwanted capacitive coupling.

Figure 2. Picture showing copper tube and the joining material

A recommended method to achieve this is to solder straight joint connectors to each end

of the copper loop and cut a PTFE or 'Tufnol' (resin bonded paper) rod 50mm (2") long x

12mm (½") to insert between, maintaining the 30mm separation. Insert the PTFE or

Tufnol rod into the straight connectors and drill a 3.2mm (1/8") hole through the tube and

the rod at each end. Then taking a M4 tap, tap the holes to take a M4 (3/16") screw.

These screws hold both the ends of the loop in place but also provide an easy method to

attach the tuning components, see Figure 3 below.

Figure 3. Assembled Copper Tube end

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Page (4)

2 Copper Tube Antenna (500mm x 500mm)

This type of construction produces an antenna, which is self-supporting, easily

constructed and tuned giving a read range of approximately 600 - 700mm.

Figure 4. Copper Tube Antenna 500mm x 500mm

The antenna loop is constructed from 15mm (½") Ø copper tube, which is bent into the

form shown in Figure 4 above. It is also acceptable to use soldered right angle

connectors but the sharper corners will slightly change the value of the resonance

matching capacitance. The loop ends are connected together using PTFE or Tufnol rod

giving 30mm separation. The tube ends are drilled and tapped through into the PTFE or

Tufnol rod to take M4 (3/16") screws. This fixing also holds the PTFE or Tufnol rod in

place and allows easy attachment of the resonance tuning components.

Figure 5. Resonance Tuning Components

The resonance tuning of the antenna to 13.56 MHz is achieved by using mica capacitors

approximating to 100pF. The fixed element comprises of 82pF + 10pF with a 5 ~ 30pF

variable mica capacitor; all connected in parallel. A 15KΩ, 2 Watt resistor, adjusts the Q

of the antenna.

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Figure 6. Gamma Matched Antenna

2.1.1 Gamma matching the Antenna

The antenna is matched to 50 Ohms, the output impedance of the Reader’s transmitter

using the "Gamma" matching method.

At the signal feed point of the antenna, usually opposite the tuning circuit, a clearance

hole is drilled through the copper tube to accept a SMA solder spill bulkhead jack (the

hole on the inside of the tube will have to enlarged to accept it).

A wire link (shown white in Figure 6) is soldered to the SMA connector center lug before it

is inserted into the copper tube. The outer of the SMA Connector is at ground potential

when it is fitted to the copper tube.

The other end of the wire link is connected (either soldered or by a crimp connector) to a

matching arm constructed from 5mm (3/16") Ø copper / nickel automotive brake pipe.

The copper / nickel pipe is attached to the main tube by using a Tufnol plate which is

screwed into the main tube. The Tufnol plate should be wide enough to ensure that the

copper / nickel pipe has a 30mm gap between it and the main tube to reduce induced

capacitance effects.

A ‘tap’ is made from two copper clamps, one 5mm and the other 15mm in size;

connected together by a solid wire soldered to each of them.

In order to match the antenna to the reader output impedance of 50 ohms and a VSWR

of 1:1.0 the antenna is attached to an MFJ HF / VHF SWR Analyzer, Model MFJ-259.

Using an iterative process, change the position of the tap along both tubes, adjusting the

tuning variable capacitor to find where the 50 Ohms @ VSWR 1:1.0 point is. Once the tap

position is found secure the clamps (it may be necessary to change the fixed capacitor

should the variable capacitor not be able to tune the antenna) and the antenna is ready

for action.

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Page (6)

3 Tape Antenna (550mm x 800mm)

Figure 7. Tape Antenna (550mm x 800mm)

3.1 Tape Antenna tuning circuit

Figure 8. Tape antenna tuning components

Antennas can be readily made from

self-adhesive copper tape adhered

to wood or plastic panels. The

antenna shown below uses Medium

Density Fibreboard (MDF) and

50mm (2") wide copper tape. When

using tape, the size and any

calculations are based on the

centerline dimensions - the actual

outside dimensions of this antenna

are 600mm x 850mm (23½" x

33½"). The corner overlap joints are

soldered as shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 8, the Tape antenna

is made resonant at 13.56 MHz by using

capacitance of the value approximately

80pF (72pF fixed mica and 2 ~ 12pF

variable capacitor) across the ends of

the loop. A 22KΩ resistor is used to

adjust the antenna Q.

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3.2 Tape antenna T Matching

Figure 9. Tape antenna T matching

The tape antenna is matched to 50 Ohms, the output impedance of the Reader’s

transmitter, by using either the Gamma or ‘T’ matching technique. In Figure 9 we show a

‘T’ matched copper tape antenna, where it can be seen the two 10mm (½") tape arms

connecting the screen and core of the coax cable to equally distant points on the loop to

tap the inductance.

3.2.1 Method to locate the matching point

Using an MJF analyzer set to 13.56MHz and with a long leaded coaxial cable you move

the ends outward from the center feed point of the antenna until you find the VSWR 1:1.0

and 50 Ohm position along the 2” wide tape antenna. At each iterative placement of the

feed cable the antenna variable tuning capacitor will have to be adjusted.

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4 Twin Loop Antenna (2 x 500mm x 500mm)

This arrangement allows the antenna to be placed either side of a conveyor and be

driven by one reader. In this example the side loops are 600mm apart but could be wider

(e.g. 1m) and still read vertical Tag-it™ transponders all the way across, between the

side loops. The two side loops are connected in parallel and at the matching point; the

inductance is 0.7µH and is half the inductance of each of the two separate loops.

Figure 10. Twin-loop Antenna

In Figure 10 you will note that the tuning and matching circuits are positioned at the top of

the antenna structure. This makes it possible to tune the antenna from above.

The antenna is also transformer matched using a BALUN (BALanced UNbalanced

Transformer) to eliminate any common mode noise.

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4.1 Twin loop Matching & Tuning Circuit with BALUN

Figure 11. Tuning circuit

The PCB on the left hand side of Figure 11 above you will see from the antenna screws,

wires passing through the toriodal ferrite core and back to the small board with the

resonance tuning capacitors and damping resistor situated on it. This is equivalent to two

turns on the secondary side of the ferrite transformer toroid. The total capacitance is 174

pF (comprising 100 pF + 33 pF, fixed mica capacitors and a 2 - 12 pF air gap variable

capacitor). The 47KOhm, 2 Watt resistor reduces the Q.

On the primary side of the antenna matching / tuning toroid core are 19 turns of 0.5mm

(24 AWG) enameled wire. These are linked to the Reader transmitter / receiver through

a 50 Ohm matching Balun shown on the right hand side of Figure 11.

Note:

A 2 Watt 47KΩ powder oxide resistor of this value also adds 32 pF

capacitance.

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Page (10)

4.2 Antenna / Transmitter Matching with BALUN

Figure 12. Antenna Transmitter Matching using a BALUN

The Balun converts an unbalanced load to a balanced load and is primarily used to

remove common mode noise associated with multiple antennas that have different

ground potentials.

The Balun shown to the right of Figure 12 is a trifilar winding of 1:1 ratio and it is

important to keep the sets of three wires tightly wound together and evenly spaced

about the ferrite toroid.

4.2.1 How to construct a Matching Balun

Figure 13. Example BALUN Matching Network

The three wires are wound on this toroid to form a balun in the following manner (I have

used colors to describe this method).

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Three wires are colored Red, Yellow and Black and are all wound together and evenly

distributed around the ferrite toroid as shown in Figure 13.

When this is complete you will have 6 ends. Keep one end of the Red and Black wires

away from the rest. Twist the other end of the Red wire with a Yellow wire and join the

ends together to make one connection. Twist the other end of the Black wire together

with the other Yellow wire and join the ends together to make one connection. You

should now have 4 wires: 1 Red; 1 Red / Yellow; 1 Black / Yellow; 1 Black. The single

Red is connected to the Reader’s cable coax core and the Black / Yellow combination

wire is connected to the screen. The Yellow / Red combination wire and Black cables are

not polarized and can be connect to the antenna matching toroid.

Note:

It is important that the correct grade of ferrite is used in the

construction of these elements and we recommend Philips 4C65

grade or Siemens K1 material.

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Page (12)

5 Small Round Antenna

This antenna can be used to create a hand held wand by attaching it to a wooden or

plastic pole. You can then use it to swipe down the outside stacked boxes, which have a

Tag-it™ smart label attached.

Figure 14. Small Round antenna

The small round antenna shown in Figure 14, is constructed by bending 5mm Ø copper

nickel brake pipe tube into a circle of 150mm internal diameter.

The Reader coax feeder cable has a separation between the inner (signal) and screen

(earth) of 80mm and the cable ends are soldered directly onto the copper nickel pipe.

This position is found by using the MJF Analyzer as described in Section 3.2.1

The pipe is cut at the tuning end and a Tufnol rod spacer inserted. The pipe and the

Tufnol spacer are then drilled and tapped to fix the ends. The tuning components are

then soldered to the copper nickel pipe, in this case the values are a total of:

Capacitance: 330pF + (10 ~ 60pF) variable with a damping resistance of 47KOhm across

them as shown below. It is possible to bend the pipe around a former and then using tie

wraps secure the antenna to it.

Figure 15. Small Round Antenna Tuning circuit

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6 Spiral Antenna

6.1 Spiral Antenna construction details

This antenna is wound around a wooden or plastic former and creates a strong RF field

for reading objects passing through the centre. One use might be to read a box of closely

spaced envelopes, each containing a Tag-it™ transponder.

Figure 16. Spiral Antenna

Spiral wound 10mm copper tape is used for the antenna. The former is 180mm x 180mm

(7" x 7") with the windings 95mm (3.7") apart and at an angle of approximately 8º to the

vertical. The ends of the spiral are brought together at the centre and matched with a

capacitive matching circuit.

Figure 17. Capacitive matching Board

System Integrators are advised that scaling up this type of antenna is not recommended

because the inductance becomes too high for easy matching.

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Page (14)

7 Conclusion

Figure 18. Roller Conveyor Read Gate

In this document we have attempted to show the RF Antenna design engineer some of

the ways in which you can build HF antennae for numerous applications. Once you have

become proficient in the design and construction of these antennae you will be able to

build a Read gate as shown above in Figure 18. This Read gate uses all the techniques

within this document and comprises of 3 antennae allowing readings of Tag-it™

transponder smart labels in all orientations as they pass through.

Note:

It is important to note that when each antenna is made and tested

that it is tested for emissions against the European Specifications

EN 300 330, EN 300 683 and the US FCC CFR47 Part 15.

References

Transmission Line Transformers by Jerry Sevick, W2FMI. ISBN 1-884932-66-5

Practical Antenna Handbook by Joseph J. Carr. ISBN 0-07-012026-9

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Texas Instruments HF Antenna Cookbook (11-08-26-001) Application notes

Texas Instruments HF Antenna Cookbook (11-08-26-001) Application notes

Texas Instruments HF Antenna Cookbook (11-08-26-001) Application notes

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